Masquerade
by marrthem
Summary: In which Adrien asks Marinette to freshman prom to get Chloe off his ass, and so starts the beginning of some very beautiful things. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter One

_If you're looking for cats, always look at night. After all, as everyone knows, they are nocturnal. And one poor boy in particular was no exception. Midnight never failed to provide a backdrop of shadows and loneliness that seemed to welcome him, enveloping him in it's dreary embrace. All the world's sorrows gather round to sing their weary tune, the empty notes laying to rest in his heart. He broke them down into a new kind of sadness, letting his new melody ring from the rooftops._

 _Then he saw her, and suddenly his world was dripping with red. It was all he could see. Scarlet blurred his vision, crimson warmed his soul. While captivating in a rosy haze of mystery, it was her eyes that truly bound his heart. He drowned in them, those eyes, for they were blue and clear as a mountain spring. Looking into them, he felt so open, so vulnerable, and yet so very safe. She was complex, this one. He could see that almost immediately. In that moment, he knew down to the very core of his bones that he had something to hope for again. Something to fight for._

Adrien smiled as he recalled that day. He stopped to look down at his notes, only to find that he'd been absentmindedly doodling little ladybugs all around the edges. A small sigh escaped his lips. It happened in nearly every period. (The exception being physics. Nino says he's aloof, and far be it from him to call him a liar, but he always paid attention in physics.) Nino suppressed a giggle when he saw the infested pages. He was the only one in their class that knew about Adrien's 'little' crush on Ladybug and found it quite amusing, much to the blond's dismay. He glared at him with a look that very clearly said _fuck off_ when the final bell rang. "I know you're all excited about prom, but don't forget to study for that test tomorrow." Mrs. Bustier reminded them. Chatter buzzed around the room as everyone slowly trickled out, aside from a handful of people. He barely had time to get out of his chair before the thick and sweet scent of Chloe's perfume filled his nose. "So Adrien, about Friday, I was thinking we could match your tie with my dress." She mused, completely ignoring the fact that he never asked her, or even remotely thought about it. "Chloe, I'm not going with you." He said, gently but firmly pushing her away from him. "Of course you are. Who else would you go with?" She scoffed. Like a spark, an idea popped into his head. Did it have all the potential to ruin a budding friendship he held near and dear to his heart? Yes! But he was reckless, if anything. He spun around to meet two startled midnight eyes and slammed his hands on her desk probably harder than he meant to. "Marinette, are you free on Friday? We should really hang out more, and I just thought of the _perfect_ opportunity." He asked, smug as a bug. "Yes! I mean...yeah, sure. I- I guess." She stuttered. She really was getting a lot better at managing her speech, but damn it if this didn't take her by surprise. "Great." He beamed, before turning and walking out. If Chloe reacted, he wouldn't have known. She was better than this, and they both knew it. They talked about it, she promised-

No. She said she'd try. Trying was good enough, and these things take time. He would just have to be patient.

* * *

 _ **I don't like writing author notes, but this is important. I decided to take the story in a new direction, but didn't want to delete it and start anew, so I'm just gonna see what I can do to change this one. Also, as you might have noticed, the ladybug doodles are staying. I know this chapter is really short, not to mention ridiculous, but the next one should be longer and, well, more serious.**_

 _ **Edit: Heeeeeey guys, guess who's finally fucking back and ready to start finishing what I started by starting at the start and finishing the finish.**_


	2. Chapter Two

Alya held Marinette in what they'd established as a blanket hug, in which Marinette gets stressed and starts rambling and pacing, and Alya hugs her, picks her up, and holds her off of the ground until her breathing starts evening out. "Are you doing any better?" She asked. The smaller girl nodded and was deposited safely back on the ground as according to protocol. "Adrien asked me to the dance as friends and I'm pretty sure it was just to get Chloe to stop bugging him about it, but none of that matters because I have nothing to wear and no time to scrape something together and I had better hope he doesn't ask me to dance because I have no idea how." She summarized, calmly and orderly this time. A moment of silence as the geared turned in Alya's head. "I doubt it's just that, Marinette. You're amazing, and I don't think he just asked you out for something as insensitive as that. As for everything else, get ready to leave and then meet me downstairs." Before the poor girl could protest, she was already down and out.

Marinette stumbled along behind her friend, who made much larger, more confident steps compared to her quick and small ones. "So where are we going?" She asked, but knowing Alya, she probably wouldn't get an answer. Well, not in the way she expected. Her dearly beloved friend said nothing, but instead stopped and gestured toward a pair of glass doors. "Let's start over here." Alya suggested, dragging her once more to a rack of dresses. Marinette lifted cars, did sick flips, and swung around Paris on a big red yo-yo, but as Alya stacked dresses onto the pile in her arms she started to find it a little hard to hold up. "Go try these on, shoo." She dismissed, still pawing through numerous racks.

After a bit of trial and error, (Hint: As good as she looks in gold, yellow isn't exactly her best color.) they finally decided on a celadon chiffon A-line gown that split exactly in the middle of the knees and fluttered out from there until it dragged ever so slightly behind her feet. The neckline was a modest and sophisticated but youthful and fun asymmetric, offering only one flowing butterfly sleeve. Meanwhile, the lace was the most beautiful and delicate example of lace Marinette could ever recall seeing. Big golden lotus flowers were woven from her neck, stopping to layer over the other neckline and taper down to the waist, only to split down the middle and burst out into a stunning train that trickled down to a stop at the hem.

Meanwhile, Adrien was having the _time of his life_ in yet another dressing room. He thought his father would be completely against the idea of him going, and caught him quite by surprise by agreeing, but he guessed he wouldn't get many chances to show off the skills he gained from that three-month advanced ballroom class he was forced to take last year. "Si, e perfetto!" Exclaimed the kind man fitting him for a suit. An Agreste suit no less, because when you were the son of a fashion designer you shouldn't be caught dead wearing a different brand or worse yet, brandless clothing. The man swept away and left him to his own devices. It _was_ a nice suit, bland maybe, but it was sharp and fit him well. He wondered what Marinette was going to wear. Probably something nice, she seemed to always know exactly what to wear to any occasion. He also wondered if she made her outfit, though he couldn't imagine four days was enough to pull that off, even for someone as skilled and talented as her. Unless she was planning to go already and did that ahead of time. "Oh stop it, you're making that face again." Plagg complained, drifting out of Adrien's schoolbag. "What face?" He asked. "The pining kitten face" He answered nonchalantly. "I do _not have a pining kitten face_. Besides, I was just thinking about Marinette, so it wouldn't make sense anyway." He said. Plagg shot him the most tired and frustrated look he could muster.

* * *

 _ **Sorry for the filler, I just needed an excuse to tell all you wonderful folks what they were wearing, and I'm actually just about to start on the actual second chapter.**_


End file.
